As a preterist, I believe the Scriptures clearly show that the wedding of the Lamb, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the establishing of the everlasting kingdom were fulfilled in the first century. The marriage supper was not a future literal event, but a covenantal transition where the old was judged and the new was fully embraced.

The marriage supper was prepared before the judgment

• Jesus spoke of a wedding feast in Matthew 22. The feast was already prepared, and the king sent out servants (the apostles) to invite guests.
  
  

• Matthew 22:4 "Again he sent other slaves, saying, 'Tell those who have been invited, "Behold, I have prepared my dinner... everything is ready, come to the wedding feast."'"
  
  

• Many rejected the invitation and mistreated the messengers.
  
  

• Matthew 22:6-7 "And the rest seized his slaves and treated them abusively, and then killed them. Now the king was angry, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire."
  
  

• That burning of the city points directly to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.
  
  

• The gospel invitation was the call to the wedding. Those who accepted were gathered into the new covenant. This is the gathering of the elect (Matthew 24:31).
  
  

The wedding came after the judgment

• Revelation 19 follows this exact pattern:
  
  

  • First, judgment on the harlot (Jerusalem)
    
    

  • Then, the wedding celebration
    
    

• Revelation 19:2 "because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great prostitute who was corrupting the earth with her sexual immorality"
  
  

• Revelation 19:7 "Let's rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has prepared herself"
  
  

• The marriage of the Lamb follows the judgment. The bride is clothed in fine linen, the righteous acts of the saints verse 8.
  
  

• The armies that follow Jesus in verse 14 are already clothed in that linen. This means the wedding has already occurred as they join Him in triumph.
  
  

The supper of the great God was judgment, not a literal feast

• Revelation 19:17-18 "Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in midheaven, 'Come, assemble for the great feast of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of commanders, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, both free and slaves, and small and great.'"
  
  

• This could not have been a literal future supper of the Lord.
  
  

• The angel invites birds, vultures, to consume the dead. This is clearly not symbolic of joy but of judgment.
  
  

• This vision corresponds with the Jewish-Roman war. The "supper of the great God" was God's judgment being executed and vultures feeding on the fallen, kings, captains, and multitudes who perished in 70 AD.
  
  

• It mirrors Jesus' own words in Matthew 24:28 "Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather."
  
  

The wedding garment symbolizes righteousness

• In Matthew 22, one man shows up without a wedding garment.
  
  

• Matthew 22:11-13 "But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes... Then the king said to the servants, 'Tie his hands and feet, and throw him into the outer darkness.'"
  
  

• The garment represents righteousness. Revelation 19:8 says, "for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints"
  
  

• Only those washed in the blood of the Lamb are truly clothed and welcomed to the wedding.
  
  

Jesus married the Church on Pentecost but consummated it in 70 A.D.

• Jesus was united with the Church spiritually on the day of Pentecost in 30 A.D., but the marriage was not finalized until the old covenant system that rejected Him was removed.
  
  

• Once Jerusalem and the law were judged and removed in 70 A.D., Christ officially married His Church, now purified and separated from the old system.
  
  

• The angel's call to the birds in Revelation 19 was part of that final transition, the cleansing judgment upon the old order, making way for the full establishment of the bride.
  
  

A 40-year reign like David's

• Jesus is the Son of David. David ruled for 40 years, and Jesus reigned with His Church from Pentecost to the destruction of Jerusalem, also 40 years.
  
  

• That period (30 A.D. to 70 A.D.) was a transition, a birth process.
  
  

• Revelation 12 describes a woman (the Church) who was pregnant and gave birth to a son.
  
  

• That son represents the new covenant community, Jew and Gentile, fully born into the everlasting kingdom.
  
  

• Jesus, not Solomon, is the promised son of David who would build the true temple, the spiritual house and whose kingdom would never be destroyed.
  
  

The old covenant passed, and the new covenant bride was revealed

• The destruction of Jerusalem marked the end of the old covenant world.
  
  

• Matthew 13:41 "The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness"
  
  

• Those who continued under the law were cast out. Only those in the new covenant of grace would remain.
  
  

• Revelation 21:2 "And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband"
  
  

Christ's kingdom is everlasting

• Some say Christ gives up His rule when He delivers the kingdom. But the Bible teaches otherwise.
  
  

• Matthew 25:31 "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne"
  
  

• Christ does not relinquish His throne, He takes it in full glory and reigns with His bride.
  
  

• 2 Samuel 7:13 "He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever"
  
  

• Isaiah 9:7 "There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace"
  
  

• Daniel 2:44 "In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed"
  
  

Jesus promised the kingdom to His disciples in their lifetime

• Luke 12:31-32 "But seek His kingdom, and these things will be provided to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father has chosen to give you the kingdom"
  
  

• He was not speaking to a future age. He was talking to His disciples.
  
  

• He told them to be like men waiting for their Lord to return from the wedding, because it was happening in their lifetime.
  
  

• Luke 12:40 "You too, be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think He will"
  
  

• Peter even asked, "Lord, are You telling this parable to us, or to everyone else as well?" (Luke 12:41)
  
  

Conclusion

The Bible's message is consistent:

• The gospel was the invitation to the wedding.
  
  

• The judgment on the city was the removal of the old covenant system.
  
  

• The birds gathered to feast because the war had come.
  
  

• Jesus finalized His union with the Church when the law passed and the new covenant stood alone.
  
  

• The Church gave birth to the everlasting kingdom, Christ reigns now and forever.
  
  

• He is the Son of David, ruling from a throne that will never end.
  
  

We are not waiting to become the bride. The wedding has already taken place. We are not waiting for the kingdom. We are living in it.